Day 23: Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

Once again, Solomon repeats himself from an earlier chapter. Ecclesiastes 3:22 says, “So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage.”

Coming to 5:18 he says, “Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.”

In verse 19 he says that it “is the gift of God” for one “to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor.” Happy is the man whom God allows to partake of his own profit and find joy in his own work. “God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart” (20).

As I look at my own life, God has blessed me in so many ways. He has definitely allowed me to rejoice in my labor and partake of the things I have worked for. But I must remember that it’s not my doing. It’s “the gift of God.”

Do I thank God enough? Am I grateful for His goodness in my life, and do I express it? I hope so. If not, it’s time to start.

It is good to enjoy all the work that you do
For all of your life in the days which God gives.
But remember the One who gave them to you,
Who allows man to joy in the days which he lives.

Day 22: Ecclesiastes 5:13-17

“There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept for their owner to his hurt. But those riches perish through misfortune…and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sever evil- just exactly as he came, so shall he go.”

It sounds like Solomon is singing the same song with modified lyrics and a different tune. Once more he is distraught over those who work much and receive much but in the end find it worthless. They were born with nothing and they will die with nothing.

Verse 15 reminds me of Job’s contented lament: “As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came.” But in contrast to Job,